He added more insults to injuries saying he's a refugee from Safed. As
a young boy, he was forcibly expelled but won't return. That's his choice,
but suggesting Palestinians sacrifice their inviolable right is unconscionable.

"Palestine for me is the 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as the capital.
This is Palestine. I am a refugee. I visited Safed before once. But I
want to see Safed. It's my right to see it, but not to live there."

"I live in Ramallah. The West Bank and Gaza is Palestine. Everything else
is Israel."

He's "ready to return to negotiations," he added. Unexplained was that
Israel doesn't negotiate. It demands. Equitable agreements aren't possible.

Abbas surrenders rights he should fight for. Never on his watch or earlier
as a corrupted Fatah official. Those around him have the same cross to
bear.

They're fully responsible for Palestinian suffering. They're guilty by
collaborating shamelessly with Israel against their own people. They say
one thing and do another.

They govern with iron fist authority. They crack down harshly on resisters.
Fundamental rights are denied. Palestinians wanting to live free have
no friend in Abbas or other Fatah rogues.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh denounced Abbas for his comments.
He called them "extremely dangerous." They contradict fundamental international
law and Palestinian rights.

Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said he spoke for himself, not others.
"No Palestinian would accept ceding the right of our people to return
to homes, villages and towns from which they were displaced," he stressed.

"If (Abbas) does not want Safed, Safed would be honored not to host people
like him."

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar also said he spoke for himself, not others.
"If Abbas claims that he represents the Palestinians, then he should hold
a referendum and ask the people what they think about the right of return,"
he added.

If he doesn't want to return to Safed, that's his choice. He has no right
to speak for millions of diaspora refugees globally. How they feel matters
most.

Israeli Foreign Minstry spokesman Paul Hirschson said if Abbas "wants
to see Safed, or anywhere else in Israel, we would happily show him anywhere."

He's not an Israeli citizen. "He doesn't have a right to live in Israel.
We agree on that." International law states otherwise.

Leaked concessions showed Abbas earlier was willing to sacrifice core
demands. Included was a cap on refugees returning to Israel. He can speak
for himself but not others.

Israelis President Shimon Peres praised him, saying:

He "condemned terror and has pledged that under his leadership there will
not be a third intifada. He understands very well that the solution to
the Palestinian refugee problem cannot be within Israeli territory, so
as not to change the demographic character of Israel. But he has put out
a hand to Israel to renew the peace process."

Israel values collaborationist Palestinians. Abbas sold his soul long
ago.

For decades, Palestinians struggled for inviolable rights. He and Israel
won't deny them. Occupation, colonization and apartheid are intolerable.
International law affirms rights too important to sacrifice.

Abbas and Israel are on the wrong side of history. So are Washington and
European allies. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
joined Hamas in supporting right over wrong.

It condemned Abbas' remarks. He can surrender if he wishes, but they won't.
PFLP leader Rabah Mhanna said:

"Abbas doesn't have the right to surrender on these principles. Abbas
with his remarks lives in a dreamland, and tries to beg for the American
and Israeli position to hope to gain something."

He called on the PLO executive committee and central council to rebuke
him. He added that Palestinians will hold steadfast to their principles
and fundamental rights.

Self-determination, the right of return, and East Jerusalem as Palestine's
capital are too inviolable to sacrifice. For sure, Abbas has no right
to do it.

He spoke on the anniversary of the November 2, 1917 Balfour Declaration.
Many Palestinians commemorate it in protest.

It "favour(ed) the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the
Jewish people (and affirmed UK) endeavors to facilitate the achievement
of this object…."

It did so at the expense of indigenous Palestinians. Their agreement wasn't
sought. Behind their back diktat authority assured land theft, dispossession,
and occupation harshness.

Palestinian refugees call their right of return sacrosanct. PA damage
control tried to reword what Abbas said. His spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh,
said:

"The position of the Palestinian leadership remains fixed. The refugees
and the right of return are among the final status issues that will be
negotiated with the Israelis."

"We are committed to the Palestinian principles as endorsed by the….Palestine
National Council."

He criticized Palestinians willing to accept a state with provisional
borders. "Those who accept a temporary state are the ones who are giving
up the right of return and harming Palestinian national principles, causing
a catastrophe for future Palestinian generations."

Abbas political advisor, Nimer Hammad, said he didn't mention sacrificing
the right of return. In fact, he implied it in part or entirely.

Electronic Intifada contributor Nour Joudah lives and teaches in Ramallah.
She's unable to visit family members in Gaza or her favorite uncle in
Tel Aviv. Israel won't allow it.

She tries to acclimate to the reality of living in the diaspora and Palestine
simultaneously. On November 2, she awoke to Abbas' remarks.

"The next time someone tells me any particular word I choose is too strong
or harsh to describe Abbas, I am considering printing the transcript of
this interview and slapping said person with it," she said.

Her 80-year old father and siblings "have more than the right to see the
grass where a village once stood. (They) have the right to return and
rebuild Palestine from the ground up. All of it. And so does every refugee
and their descendants."

Millions of refugees dream of their Safad. "If I or they want to sign
away our right of return, we will let you know."

"Don’t mistake your people’s exhaustion and frustration for surrender.
Don’t mistake the young people’s re-organizing and re-acquainting themselves
with their own history for lack of vision."

"And most importantly, do not mistake being head of a local Palestinian
Authority (and yes, a defunct PLO), for a continued free pass from members
of the diaspora to speak on its behalf."

Abbas speaks for himself, not them. Many condemn him for spurning their
rights and governing like a tinpot despot. The sooner they're rid of him,
the closer Palestine comes to liberation. Like ordinary people everywhere,
they're on their own to achieve it.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking,
Government Collusion and Class War"

http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge
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